Caring For Your Cat

Are you tired of cleaning up around the litter box?  Or have you found
other areas in your house that your cat has made it a litter box?  The
steps that you can take to correct this from happening are just below.

Before I talk about the steps to take to get your cat to use the litter box,
lets talk about some of the reasons for your cat not using the litter box.
It could be any one of the following:

1. The cat was not litter box trained in the beginning.
2. There is something wrong with the litter box, it may not like it.
3. The cat could have been frightened while at the litter box.
4. A temporary change or stress in the house.
5. The cat is unable to get to the litter box due to illness or age.
6. A serious medical condition.

There are seven different steps that you can make to get your cat
using the litter box again.

1.  You will want to keep the litter box clean by scooping it out at least
once or twice a day.  Also, changing out the entire litter box is helpful
once every 3-4 days if you are using a non-clumping and once every
2-3 weeks for clumping.  When you change out the litter be sure to
clean out the box with hot water and a mild detergent.  You do not
want to use anything with strong odors as it could repel the cat from
the box.  If you have more than one cat, remember to have at least
one box per cat plus an extra box or two.  Also, if you recently changed
the type or brand of litter your cat may not like the new.  You will want
to gradually mix in the new with the old to get the cat used to the new litter.

2.  You also might want to add a litter box to another private spot of
the house.  It is possible that the litter box is not the source of the
problem, but the location due to a bad experience.

3.  Clean the area where your cat peed thoroughly to remove the urine.
The cat’s sense of smell is better than ours, and if they can still smell the
urine they will more than likely return to that spot again.  You will want
to use a solution that removes urine and its smell.

4.  Do not allow your cat into the area where it peed.  If they do not go
back to using the litter box and find another spot, use one of the other steps.

5. If you can’t keep the cat from entering the area, make it less attractive
for peeing instead. You can do this by either placing a scent, or, by placing
a bowl of dried cat food there. If using a scent, try citrus or eucalyptus. If
using dried food, which often works better, ensure that you fill up the food
bowl during the day.

6.  If there’s a change in toilet behavior with no obvious cause, it may be
caused by illnesses such as urinary tract infections, blocked anal glands,
worms and parasites, diabetes and tumors. These illnesses may have no
other obvious signs, apart from this urination problem. So you must
consider a visit to the vet. In other cases you may see symptoms such
as lethargy, blood in the urine, diarrhea, or constant licking in the anal
area. If you see this, then your first stop is the vet!

7. This step is a little trickier and must be done with care and attention.
You must catch the cat in the act.  When you catch them, make a loud
noise, or a firm No.  If done properly the cat will associate that spot
with an unpleasant feeling and will not return to pee at that spot.

It does take some effort to see what has caused the litter box problem
in the first place. Now you have the steps to take to correct the
problem as quickly as possible.